Right there is our disconnect. Not you being a snarky %$#@(although that doesn't help), but the idea that I'm here trying to get the big carriers to encourage or otherwise "help" smaller fleets in any way. I'm not.
There's even a bigger disconnect that you think, because I didn't say you were here trying to get big carriers to encourage smaller fleets. I didn't even hint at it. My comments were directed squarely at OVM, which is why I quoted him. My comment in the last paragraph was a direct reference to the same post where I pulled his quote, where he said, "carriers really need to start using the capacity already out here better to their advantage.....never mind that you are the biggest just downsize the fleet..."
They will still get said misinformation, but at least now they have a CHANCE to see that not everyone shares that opinion, and they can make their own informed decisions, and do their own research.
Research is critical to anyone entering this business, but the problem with someone entering the business with little or no experience is they are unable to make fully informed decisions, in no small part because many of the people who only know this industry from the multi-carrier model viewpoint are the ones giving their opinions, and it ends up being the blind leading the blind, or more accurately, the ignorant leading the ignorant.
They're new and inexperienced and don't even know enough to ask the right questions, and they often get the wrong answers from those who have rationalized the answers because, as you said earlier, "It all makes sense." That's how van drivers are able to figure out that they can't haul that 300 pound pallet with half a dozen 5-gallon buckets of paint or that 900 pound pallet of car batteries, because they have scary little HAZMAT labels on them, and you know, you can't haul HAZMAT without a CDL. It makes sense.
They already think they can make more money by having multiple carriers and brokers looking for loads with them, yet that's been proven to be a myth. There are exceptions, but those are exceptions, not the norm. But that thought gets reinforced by those operating in the multi-carrier model who are actually convinced they're making more than someone leased on with a single, good carrier. The ignorant leading the ignorant.
They are also told things like, "You don't need that expensive insurance. This is all you need." And they wind up with commercial insurance that won't cover expedite at all, or they get an inland marine policy and think they're covered, or they get an actual expedite trucking policy that only covers them in certain states or with a limited radius like 500 miles. And they think they're covered. They get screwed over by carriers and brokers in little ways and don't even know they're getting screwed. They think 65 and 70 cents a mile is normal, and get all giddy when they see 90 cents a mile once a month.
The failure rate of expediters in general is high, especially with cargo vans, but cargo van multi-carrier drivers fail at an astonishing rate. Partly because the multi-carrier model is a last ditch effort for many, and they enter the industry ill-prepared and with unrealistic expectations. The ones who are successful, generally speaking, are the ones with at least 2 or 3 years experience at a larger carrier or two, who have learned the business, know what to watch out for, know who to stay away from, and most importantly, know where freight comes from (hint: it's not from bid boards).
on the internet, myself included. Figure things out for yourself, and never stop learning/asking questions. We can all be better.
